When I grew up, there was a long time when I was convinced I wanted to be President of the United States. Then I discovered that I had a soul, but I digress…

When I was little, presidential candidates looked like Bob Dole, Bill Clinton, and Ross Perot. And largely… things haven’t changed. Who are we kidding? There’s no “largely” about it.

In this week’s White Rabbit Work, Hail to the Chief, legendary television creator Susan Harris dares to wonder what would happen if (gasp!) a woman were elected president.

Apparently, little has changed since 1985.

It barely needs to be said that this is, of course, a well-trod narrative in 2026 thanks to shows like Madame President and Veep. This was, however, fresher territory in the 1980s. Especially if we don’t talk about Kisses for My President (1964).

Please don’t make me rip open that wound again. I’m still mad about Kisses for My President.

Hail to the Chief follows Patty Duke as President Julia Mansfield. Ted “Donald Hollinger” Bessell, Herschel Bernardi, Murray Hamilton, John Vernon, and Joel Brooks co-star in the series. The show comes from creator Susan Harris, best known to millennials as the creator of  The Golden Girls and Soap. 

Dare we mention her fearless and fiery work on Maude?

As a creator, Susan Harris never met a challenge she didn’t face head-on. And boy, oh, boy, that remains strikingly true this time around with her work on Hail to the Chief’s pilot episode.

Classic TV fans likely remember the hoopla surrounding Soap, much of which revolved around Billy Crystal’s depiction of Jodie, who many critics and scholars alike consider among the first openly LGBTQ characters on the small screen.

Harris is quoted in a November 1, 1985, issue of the Sun-Journal while she was promoting The Golden Girls. “Soap lasted four years and drew a large audience, but was cancelled because the network couldn’t sell commercials on it… I think it’s the finest thing I’ve ever done”.

An April 9, 1985, issue of The Birmingham News quotes Patty Duke, “I think the major difference between this show (Hail to the Chief) and Soap is that this is years later, so we can go further”.

And go further they did. Truthfully, I was taken aback by Hail to the Chief. 

The series hits the ground in the pilot with language that would make the saltiest of contemporary network writers clutch their pearls. The humor is heavy with not only racial, but also homophobic language that’s painful to listen to in 2026. 

I immediately struggled with the creative intent. The 1980s were certainly the 1980s, but this brings an occasional “off-color” joke to a new, uncomfortable level.

My brain wanted to explain this as Harris making a point. The only person seemingly safe from the language is Patty Duke. Was Harris sending a message about the dire need for change in Washington and the men we continue to elect?

Then, however, I jumped into the newspaper coverage.

The Sun Journal continued, quoting Harris, “It was not our intention to do a bad show and insult everyone. That’s what we ended up doing.” She went on to describe a creatively fraught relationship with ABC, who, according to Harris, demanded they ratchet up their characters. “There wasn’t anything human about them. You couldn’t care about them”.

Harris goes on, riding a wave of The Golden Girls-fueled courage. She openly admits that she refused to renew her contract with ABC after Hail to the Chief and wouldn’t work with the network again until there was new leadership in place.

So many moments in Hail to the Chief aim to not only push the envelope, but also take chances and experiment. There’s a gem of a brilliant show here, so the misses become even more painful. 

I, for one, was intrigued by Joel Brooks’ portrayal of Randy, a Secret Service agent in the White House.

Randy is one of those characters for whom historical context is desperately needed.

Watching this through a modern lens shows Randy as a highly stylized and stereotypical character. He’s playing up the camp for the cheap seats.

At the same time, though, this was 1985. This places Hail to the Chief squarely in the midst of the AIDS crisis. Rock Hudson would pass away from the disease later this same year.

With that, it feels important, in an era that still didn’t have the language to understand LGBTQ issues, that Randy was allowed to not simply exist as himself, but also as a figure of power.

In the pilot episode, we see Randy sparring vocally with Oliver (Ted Bessell), and the Secret Service Agent easily puts down the First Gentleman with not only his power, but his presence. He’s a formidable and powerful figure. 

Now, if we pivot to questions of star persona, we see another layer in Hail to the Chief’s complicated backbone. Kids, this show really wanted to be something fierce.

Those with a fondness for classic television (or a long history with Nick at Night) will certainly remember Ted Bessell as Donald Hollinger, Ann Marie’s well-meaning but often oblivious boyfriend in That Girl.

Full disclosure, yours truly had a complex and fairly all-consuming Ted Bessell phase. Who are we kidding? It was a crush.

Going back to his work on That Girl, Bessell carries an association with easily accessible, harmless masculine tropes. His characters are sweet. They’re unassuming. You know the type… You can bring him home to meet the parents.

With all of this loaded into Bessell’s past, Hail to the Chief makes the striking decision to cast Bessell as a real pig. We learn early in the pilot (before Duke has even entered the show) that Oliver (Bessell) is cheating on his wife. He’s insecure, domineering, and more than willing to take part in some of the show’s most problematic language.

Donald Hollinger would never!

The choice to cast Bessell in this role is frankly a little perverse and… it fascinates me. This is a savvy use of casting against type, but its impact is dulled by the in-your-face character construction. The show’s uncomfortable language detracts from what could have been a quirky choice. It didn’t have time to grow.

When all is said and done, Hail to the Chief is a complicated beast of a TV oddity. This is a show with fascinating bones, but thanks to primary sources, it didn’t have a shot. It didn’t have a chance to grow.

Susan Harris, as mentioned, saw The Golden Girls picked up just a few months later in the fall of 1985. The legendary comedy would go on to run for 7 seasons. It reminds us how the winners write the history books.

While 7 episodes of Hail to the Chief were made, only the pilot is, at this point, currently available. YouTube has the pilot as well as assorted promos.

Another week, another television oddity we at Piercing Pop Culture would love to track down. Have you seen the rest of this short-lived series? Let us know in the comments.